Sarah Polley protests Bill C-10
OTTAWA – Oscar nominee Sarah Polley appears before a Senate committee Thursday to fight a rule change she says “attacks the very heart of Canadian programming.”
Bill C-10 would allow Heritage Minister Josee Verner or a government committee to refuse tax credits to film or television productions considered offensive and “contrary to public policy.”
“It is against freedom of speech and everything we stand for,” said Polley, an actor and director representing the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).
“Canadians won’t be able to see the Canadian programs they love,” she said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Polley will be joined by a company of influential players in Canada’s film industry including Brian Anthony, CEO of the Directors Guild of Canada.
Edgy shows such as Little Mosque on the Prairie and the Trailer Park Boys are most at risk, Anthony said.
“It’s a homogenization of the nature of productions – you will see more productions about kittens, puppies, bunnies and cute little kids.”
Anthony added the move will damage an already ailing industry. The soaring loonie has kept many American productions down south, and the recent writers’ strike had a profound effect in B.C., where many American programs are filmed.
The existing tax credit enables producers to apply for a bank loan for the production of a film or television piece, if they meet Canadian content rules. They receive the credit only after the production is completed.
The power to make a ruling on acceptable content after a program has been filmed has many in the artistic community upset.
In addition, the amendment is only applicable to Canadian productions and does not affect American programs applying for funding.
Maureen Parker, representing the Writers Guild of Canada, says the government bill unjustly punishes Canadian actors, directors and script writers, while leaving their American counterparts off the hook.
A one-hour drama developed in Canada costs roughly $1.4 million, or about a quarter of the cost of an American drama of the same length, she said from Toronto.
“It is totally unfair. In order to meet these needs, Canadian producers have to bank the tax credit, they have to borrow against the tax credit and use that money to interim finance the production.”
Categories